Feed-water regulator



June 5, 1928. 1,672,237

v. v. vEENscHoTEN FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Deo, 51, 192:5 3sheets-sheet 1 FEED WATER REGULATOR l Filed D90. 31, 1923 5 sheets-sheet2 June 5, 1928. 1,672,237

V. V. VEENSCHOTEN FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Dec. 3l, 1923 5Sheets-Sheet 3 [mf/770m' ///'/7ce/7/ M Vae/Schafen lis Patented I une 5,1928-.

UNITED' STATES PATENT orrlca.

VANIA.

VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO NORTHERN;

EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL-FEED-WATER REGULATOR.

application ined December s1, 192s. serial No. 683,656.

This inventionrelates to feed water regulators for regulating the supplyof water to boilers. furnaces and the like, and it has for its objectcontrolling the water level in the boiler well within the limits ofsafety, but also varying the level with reference to the varyingintensity of the furnace fire and the manner in which the water in theboiler is being heated and the particular load upon the boiler. Whilethe application of the invention is not to be considered as limited toany particular use yet forthe purposes of illustration herein I havedescribed the regulator as applied to a boiler which is receiving heatintermittently, but .which has a more or less constant load on theboiler; and one of the objects of the invention is to control the How ofwater to the boiler by means of the regulator so as to supply the waterin the most efficient manner when the intermittent heating means areused and when the load is continuous. Other objects of the inventionwill be apparent on Consideration of the accompanying drawings and thefollowing description thereof.

Of the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation, more or less diagrammatic, of aboiler and its equipment, including a feed-water regulator whichembodies the features of my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectionalelevation of the equipment of the boiler; Fig. 3 is an enlargedsectional view of a device for controlling the action of the regulator;Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the cams which are used inconnection with the boiler equipment; and Fig. 5 shows a modified use ofmy invention.

In the manufacture of lgas from coal the coal in the fire-place ofthegas producer is often burned intermittently and while burning the hotgases of combustion 'are passed 0E and used in heating Water in a boilerso as to generate steam thein for such purposes as may' be desired. Incarrying on this process it is common to have the combustion in the gasproducer continue for a few minutes and then to shut off the isclosedfwhich shuts off the hot gases fromthe lues of the boiler. At thesame time it is usually desired to use steam from the boilercontinuously. Hence. it becomes desirable to distribute as uniformly aspossible the effects of the'heat in the boiler over the entire time, notonly during the blow but also during what is called the run of the gasproducer when the hot gases are shut off from the boiler.

As is Well understood by 'operators of boilers, in any case ofnon-uniform loads on the boiler, it isA desirable to pass the feed waterinto the boiler at a greaterrate in proportion to the load when theloadJ is light than when the load is heavy; so that when` the heavierload comes on there will be in the boiler a large amount of hot waterwhich provides some of the energy for the extra load, and thusdistributes more uniformly the effects of the fire, making asubstantially constant fire more effective by storing energy in thewater in the boiler when the load is light and using this extra energywhen the heavier load comes on.

Similar effects are desirable when the fire is not uniform and the loadis continuous, and particularly if the heat applied isintermittent andthe load constant. It is then .desirable to pass more water inproportion to the load when the heat is applied so that this water mayabsorb excess heat energy and may deliver more energy when the heatbeing applied ceases. In case of the gas producer system which I haveillustrated, the passage of the hot gases from the gas producer to theboiler is entirely shut off every few minutes for a few minutes atatime, hence, the boiler is receiving no outside heat during the periodof run of the gas producer. In order to offset this intermittent actionof the fire and the steam through the fire bed, it is desirable to feedmuch more waterl into the boiler during the period of blow when theboiler is receiving heat lfrom the gas producer than during the periodof run, so'that the boiler can carry a substantially uniform load. Theobject of my invention is to produce this result.

In the drawings I have shown diagrammatically a gas producer 10 which,by

means of a conduit 11, is connected to the furnace portion of the boiler12; and the flow of the hot gases from the producer to the boiler iscontrolled by meansof a valve 13; and also the flow of the hot gasesfrom Der.

the boiler is controlled by valve 14 which is placed in the outlet 15 ofthe boiler. By this arrangement during the period of blow of the gasproducer the hot gases are passing freely through the iues of the boilerand out of the outlet 15. But during the period of run the iow of gasesis stopped by both valves 13 and 14, and the only heat received by thewater of the boiler is from the hot gases enclosed in the flues of theboiler and the heat which has been absorbed by the Water pipes and thelike and also by the water itself.

Inorder to control the flow of water to the boiler a feed pipe 16 isprovided to which is supplied in any ordinary manner a continuous supplyof water under suflicient pressure; and the iow into the boiler iscontrolled by the feed-water valve 17, and this valve 17 is controlledby a feed-water regulator 18. The feed-water regulator may be of anyordinary type of regulator such as a float, asteam generator, or athermostatic regulator. I prefer the latter in illustrating myinvention, and this regulator comprises the ordinary expansion tube 19,having one end pivoted to a support- 2O and the other end fixed to abracket 21 which in turn is fixed to the base 22 of the regulator; thebase being supported in any suitable man- Pivoted to the upper end ofthe support 20, and substantially parallel with the tube, is a rod 23,the lower end of which is pivoted to a lever 24.r The short arm of thelever is pivoted at 25 to the bracket 21, and the long arm isoperatively connected by means of a link 26 to the arm 27 of the feedvwater valve. The expansion tube 19 is connected in an ordinary manner,by means of pipes 28 and 29 to the boiler, below and above the desiredwater level, so that the water in the tube 19 stands at all times sub*stantially on alevel with the water in the boiler. l

As is well understood, with a feed-'water regulator arranged as hereindescribed, in case the water in the boiler )sinks the water in the tubewill sink also and expose a greater length of the tube to the increasedtemperatureof the steam with reference to the water, and the tube willexpand slightly; and when connected as indicated the upper end of thesupport 20` will be forced slightly to the right and by virtue of theaction of the rod 23 and the lever 24, the link 26 will be movedupwardly and the cylinder 3() of the valve 17 will be forced upwardly,thus opening the valve more and allowing more water to pass into theboiler through the feed water pipe 16. On the other hand, lwhen thewater in the boiler rises, the process Willbe reversed, the tube 1.9will contract and by virtue of the weight 31 acting on the arni 27, thevalve will be closed more and less water will pass into the boiler.

Then the heat received bythe watei` in the boiler is substantiallyuniform the feedwater regulator arranged as described will maintainwithin certain limits the water level of the boiler, and if properlyadjusted, it. will allow the water to sink'somewhat below the averageduring times of heavy such a regulator will maintain the waterl level ata constant elevation in the boiler.

nd, if the load is constant and the heat supplied is intermittent, thereis a tendency yfor the water in the boiler to rise when the heat isapplied owing to the entrained steam being generated in the water, and,hence, for the regulator to shut down the feedwater valve somewhat. The.reverse occurs when the heat to the boiler is shut olf, the entrainedsteam rapidly passes out of the water, the water sinks and the valve isopened wider and more water is passed into the boiler. As a consequence,when the boiler is receiving heat there is a tendency for less water tobe supplied than when it is not receiving heat, while it is desirable tohave more water supplied when receiving heat than when not receivingheat. At the same time, irrespective of this effect of the entrainedsteam, as there is vordinarily no direct. relation between the heatapplied and feed of water to the boiler, it often happens that water isbeing fed rapidly to the boiler when no heat is being received or thatsubstantially no water is being fed at times of blow. p

'Io eliminate this disadvantage, and to provide for feeding more waterwhen the boiler is receiving heat, any suitable means may be providedfor controlling the eiect of the regulator on the feed valve. I Vpreferfor the purpose to provide means for shifting the lower end lof thesupport 20. For the purpose any suitable means may be used, but Iprefecto provide the control device 32 which comprises a cylinder 33containing a pistou 34. The piston stem k35 is pivoted to the lower endof the support 20, and the lower end of the support 20, by means of aslot 36. is otherwise free to move longitudinally on the base 22, sothat the support acts as a lever pivoted at 72. I then connect the endsof the cylinder 33. by means ofpipes 70 and 71, with the hydraulic meansfor operating the valves 13 and 14 of the boiler so that when thesevalves are lclosed so as to shut 0H the heat from the boiler, the lowerend of the support 20 will be forced to the right, thus allowing the rod23 to move to the left and theweight 31 to close more or less or perhapsentirely the valve 17, so as to reduce very materially, if not toeliminate altogether, the flow of water to the boiler during the periodof run. Un the other hand, when the lvalves 13 or 14 are open during theperiod of blow the piston 34 is forced to the left, thus forcing thelower end of the support to the left and forcing the rod 23 to the rightand opening more the valve 17` allowing more Waterto flow into thelboiler. The amount of the effect of the control device 32 on the regu-\lator will depend upon the distance the lower end of the support 20 ismoved by the piston 34. This may be regulated in any suitableI manner. Iprefer for the purpose to use a link 37 which is pivoted to the support20 and which passes through a proj ection 38 liXed to the cylinder 33.Stop nuts 39 limit the movement of the link 37 with reference to thecylinder 33, and, hence, limit the distance the lower end of the support2() can be moved by the piston.

Any suitable means may be used for oper- ,ating the piston 34 inconjunction with the operation of the valves 13 and 14. I prefer tooperate the piston by the same hydraulic power used ordinarily foroperatin the valves. The hydraulic system comprises a tank 40 suppliedwith j water which, by means of a pump 41, is pumped into a casing `42.The pipes 43 and 44 convey this water pnder its pressure to thecylinders 45 and 46 which control the valves 13 and 14 by means ofpistons 47. When it is desired to open the valves 13 and 14 the valve 48in the casing 42 is opened by any suitable means and the valve 49 visclosed. This allows the water under pressure to pass through the pipe 43to the lower end of the cylinder 45 and force the piston 47 upwardly andopen the valve 13,'and similarly operate th^e valve 14 by means'of thecylinder 46.

the same time the exhaust water in the upper end of the cylinder 45passes out through the pipes 67 into a casing 68.y This casing isconnected by means of a pipe 69 with the tank 40, andthe exhaust water,therefore, passes up into the casing 68 and downwardly into the tank 40.When it is desired to close the valves 13 and 14 the valve 48 isclosed,the valve 49 is opened and the water passes to the upper end ofthe cylinders 45 and 46 and forces downwardly the pistons 47, theexhaust water in the lower end of the piston passing upwardly throughthe pipes 50 and 51 to the asing 68. The valve 55 being open and thjvalve 56 closed at the same time that the valves 48 and 49 are reversedin position.

Any suitable mechanism may be used for operating the valves in thecasings 42 and 68.- I prefer forv the purpose a motor 60 which, by meansof a reduction gearing, op-

greater port-ion of the time.

pumping the water directly into the casing erates a shaft 61 upon whichare mounted cams 62 which operate the valves in a well-A known manner,the cams being so. arranged -that the opening and closing is carried outquickly, and the valves thus remain in elther the opened or the closedposition durmg the n Instead of 42, I prefer a tank 64 into which thewater is pumped fromthe tank 40, through a 'pipe 65, and from the tank'64 the water passes through a pipe 66 into the casing 42.

It should 13e/understood that the device` 32 does not deprive thefeed-water regulator of its ordinary function of controlling-the flow ofwater to the boiler in accordance with the elevation of the water in theboiler. This function is performed at all times. The functionof thedevice 32 is simply to decrease the water fed during4 eriods of run orstop it all together, entire y irrespective of the normal action of theregulator, and to'open the feed-water valve wider during the blow thanthe valve would be opened normally by the regulator. If it should happenlthat the regulator and the controller 32 acted cumulatively the valvewouldbe often closed alto ether or would be open to the maximum. n theother hand, if they tended to neutralize each other, the valve might notbe materially aiected. But, be 'that as it may, the effect of thecontroller 32 in general is to maintain aliigher level in the boilerduring the periods of blow than during the periods of run, than would bethe case with the regulator alone. The controller changes theV regulatoradjustment so that a higher water level will give the same 'confined togas, producer systems, or any system which merely supplies waste heat tothe boiler. The controller may be actuated 'by any means whether or notthe means are also used to control the heatl supplied io` the boiler orthe intensity of the lire in the furnace of the boiler. For instance, asthe damper'of a boiler is adjusted ,in any ordinary manner .theadjusting means may be caused`to adjust correspondingly the controller32. Furthermore, the particular device 32 may be replaced by anyequivalent device, or may be inserted in some other portion of the valveregulating mechanism such as the rod 23 or link 26. Various othermodifications can be made in the apparatus herein disclosed, withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention,.as set forth in the followingclaims.

The foregoing description of my invention shows it applied to a boilerwhich is nary type of boiler pperated in the usual manner for steampower purposes, receivlng its Water supply through the pipe controlledby the feed-Water valve 77, the

operation of which is regulated by the regulator 78,y Coal-is fed to thefire 79 of the furnace by means of the stoker 80 which is operated bythe steam engine 81; the draft of the fire is regulated by the damper82,

. and the control 32 of Fig. 2 is replaced by the following describedcontrolling means. The regulator which may be substantially in allrespects s-imilar to the regulator 18 comprises4 the thermostatic tube83 and base 84 and the lever 85 associated with the feedwater valve. Theupper end of the thermostatic tube is supported by a lever 86 and asecond lever 87, the lever 86 being pivoted to the en d of the tube andthe lever 87 being pivoted to the base of the regulator. To the upperend of the lever 86 is pivoted the rod 88 which is also pivoted to thelever 854 `By this arrangement, if thefarm 89 of the lever 87 is held inplaceywhen the tube 83 expands the valve 77 will be opened more, and theamount of opening of this valve Will-de pend upon the position of thearm 89. If this arm 89 is raised, the upper end of the lever 86 will bethrown to the right and the feed-water valve Will'be opened. wider thanotherwise.

Any suitable means may be used for controlling the lever 87 withreference to the particular conditions of the fire or the boiler. Iprefer to control this lever in conjunction with the damper so that asthe steam pressure of the boiler increases and the damper is closedmore, more Water will be fed to the boiler, and a, the pressuredecreases less Water will be fed to the boiler, thereby tending to holdthe pressure constant.. The feed to the boiler may be thus changed lnuchmore quickly than the intensity of the fire can be changed by changingthe damper; hence, the lag in the effect on the steam pressure ismaterially reduced; and this is true whether the pressure rises orfalls.

To produce these results any suitable means may be provided to controlthe posi- Vtion of the lever arm 89 as the position of the damper iscontrolled. I prefer for the purpose a controller 90 comprising a steamchamber 91 which is closed by means of the diaphragm 92. As the chamber91 is connected to the steam space of the boiler the steam pressure willbe transmitted to the diaphragm and as the'pressure increases the leverarm 93 will be forced upwardly against* the spring 94. The upwardmovement of this arm, by means offthe link 95, lever 96, link 97 and arm98, closes more or less the damper 82 so as to reduce the 'intensity ofthe fire, and hence to reduce the steam pressure which has presumablybecome too great. As the arm 93 rises, by means of a link 99 `and thearm 100 the valve 101, supplying 'steam to the engine 81 of the Stoker,will be closed somewhat, thus reducing 4the feed of the Stoker.

To assist in reducing the steam pressur in the boiler to the normalamount I provide the link 102 which, as the arm 93 is forced upwardly,will carry with it the arm 89, and, hence, will open wider the feed-Water valve 77 and allow more water to enter the boiler. In this mannerit will be seen l that as the steam pressure rises above the normalamount more water will be fed into the boiler, and the tendency will beto reduce the pressure of the steam therein. On the ,other hand, whenthe pressure of the steam decreases the arm 93 will be lowered by thespring 94, acting in conjunction with the Weights 105 and 106, andthearm 89 will be lowered causing the regulator to close somewhat more thefeed-water valve 77 and reduce the flow of water to the boiler. rIn

this manner the controlling. lever 87 will at all times quickly tend toprevent material variations in the steam pressure in the boiler. Whenthe steam pressure increases, with this system the regulator will actrst in effectively decreasin the pressure; the damper will act next anthe stoker last. Conversely when the pressure be ins to decrease therelative lags of the di erent controllers will be Similar. So that eachcontroller acts independently of the others both in manner and 4in time,and the regulator controller 87 Will act in conjunction with or will actindependently of the regulator tube A83, depending on whether or not theWater level changes with the pressure.

I claim as my invention:

1.v The combination of a boiler feed-Water regulator, comprising meansadapted to be actuated by the Water-level elevation of the boiler forfeeding Wat-er to the boiler, and means for modifying simultaneously theaction of said rst mentioned means and the intensity of the heat appliedto the boiler.

2. A'boiler feed-Water regulator comprising means for feeding water to aboiler so as to vary the elevation of the water in the boiler inverselyas the load and means for modifying simultaneously said first menitioiied mea-ns andthe intensity -applied to the boiler.

l ation of the second mentioned means.

lof the hea-tI 3. The combination ofl a steam boiler,"

nieansfor regulating the loiv of water tothe boiler. means forregulating the intensity of the heat applied to the boiler, and meansfor modifying the first mentioned' meansin accordance .with butindependentlyfof the oper- 4. In a steam boiler svstem .means for meansindependent of the boiler for regulatring the intensityl of the heatapplied tothe boilenand means actuatedby said lastfmen-y tioned-meansfor modifying vthe operation of said firstl mentioned means.

5. "In a steanf boiler' system means independent.v of the boiler -orcontrollingtlie intensity-of heat applied to the' boilei. and meansmodified by said iirstmentioned means for regulating the How of Water tothe boiler, said Water regulating means being operable independentlyofsaid heat regulating means. v

o. In a. steam boiler'svstem. means for regulating the 'intensity of theheat applied to the boiler', means depending on the water level in the.boiler for regulating the flow' of water t0 the boiler. andmeans forcontrol- 7? A boilerfeed-water regulator Aand a feed-Water valve. meansoperatively connecting said regulator and' valveg and common meansarranged to vary the intensity of the heat applied 'to the boiler and tomodify the action of said feed-'Water lFegulatfor on said valve. v

' 8. A feed-water regulator 'c omprising; a' thermostatic tube and afeed-Water valve, one end of said tube being fixed, and 'meansoperatively connecting lthe otlieiiend vwith said feed-water valve,fsaid means comprising a'lever, and means for varyingthe position of thefulcrum of said lever. f

9. A feed-water regulator comprising end slidably 'mounted on said base,the other 'end withreference to said base. ling simultaneously both ofsaid regulating' .varying'the intensity o the heatapplied to 'meansbeing simultaneously operated by a 4thermostatietube 4and a feed-watervalve, "one end o'f'said tube being fixed, and means intensity .of theheat applied to the boiler is varied. i .15

l0.,'Af'feed-vvate r regulator comprising a" theimostatictube and afeed-Water valve, one end of saidl tube being fixed, and meansoperatively connecting the other end .with

said feed-water valve. said means comprising a lever, and means forvarying the positionof thefulcrum of'said lever, said latter meanscomprising a cylinder.` a piston in .said cylinder and means for varyingthe po'- sition of said -piston insaid cylinder in ac- .Cordance withthe heat applied to the boiler.i l1. vA'feed-Water regulator comprisinga base, a thermostat'ic tube with one end -lixed with reference tosaidbase. a lever with one end of said tube being pivoted between t-heends of said lever, means connected with said leverv for operating avfeed-Water valve,a.nd means for shifting said slidably mounted 12. Afeed-water regulator comprising a base, a tlieriiiostatic tube withoneend fixed yvitli reference tosaid-base. a leverivith one 'end slidablymounted on said base, the other.

end of said 'tube being `pivoted adjacent the 80 1 other end of saidlever. means connected with the said other end of said lever foroperating I a feed-Water valve, and means for shifting said slidablymounted end with reference to i said base. ini-combination with meansfor a boiler.' saidd latter means and said shifting eommon means. Intestimony whereof, I liand.-`

VIN CjEN T V. VEEN SCHOTEN.'

'hereunto set. my

